Laboratory Exercise No.

Special Senses: Vision

Sensations felt are divided into two groups: general and special sensations. Pain,
pressure, temperature are some of the examples of general senses. Special sensations,
on the other hand, include vision, audition, gustation and olfaction. This part of the
exercise will focus on visual physiology.

The visual system makes individuals aware of their environment. The

structures involved in recognizing objects, interprets information from visible light and
forms image in the central nervous system. The visual system does not only form visual
images in our brain but also forms non-image photo response functions. These include:
formation of monocular representations and binocular perception from a pair of two-
dimensional projections ( Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, 2 0 1 4 ) ; assesses
distances of objects; makes one aware of his position in relation to his environment;
regulates the light that strikes the retina; makes one appreciate color of objects; and
plays very important role in entrainment of the pineal gland for the regulation of sleep-
wake cycle.

Objectives:
1. Differentiate the pathways for vision and light reflex.
2. Evaluate individual’s visual acuity.
3. Assess individual’s binocular acuity.
4. Evaluate individual’s visual field.
5. Detect presence of color blindness.
6. Assess presence of errors of refraction.

Materials:
Penlight
Paper / Card
Pin
Perimeter
Snellen’s chart
Jaeger Eye Chart
American Optical Instrument’s color plates / Ishihara Color Vision Plates Rods
/ Ballpens (similar height and diameter)
Meter stick
Cardboard
Plyboard (4 X 6 X 2 inches)
Materials:
Drum with alternating 2cm thick black and white lines
White screen
Flashlight or Spotlight
Lens
Object / Photo Negative with cut image (usually an arrow)
Clips
Colored shapes / images
Procedures:
I. Light Reflex ( Direct and Consensual)
1. Position the subject seated away from the source of light.
2. Place the angle of the lateral aspect of the wrist of the subject between the eyes.
Make sure it fits the angle of the subject’s nose. The angle of the
wrist fits the angle of the nose unless the subject had rhinoplasty. This will
assure that no light will traverse the other eye.
3. Flash a light from the temporal side of the eye to the nasal side. Make sure light
will not reach the other eye. Observe both eyes. Record your result.
4. Perform procedure #3 on the other eye. Observe and Record the result.
5. Now, remove the hand on the nose.
6. Cover the left eye with your palm. Using your right eye, look through a
pinhole in a piece of white paper for 30 seconds.
7. Now, remove the hand covering your left eye.
8. Note the change in size and brightness of the visual field of the right eye.
9. Again, cover the left eye. Observe.
10. Record your results.

Questions:
1. What happened with the eye that was stimulated by the light? What about the other
that was not stimulated? Explain your results?

2. Discuss the lesions in light reflex pathway.

3. Discuss the importance of light reflex in daily life.

4. Discuss light and dark adaptation.

II. Inversion of Image

1. Close the eyes and look towards your right with eyes close.
 2. Using your index finger press the temporal (lateral) side of your left eye
socket putting enough pressure on the eyeball causing appearance of a
ring (Phosphene Ring) of light on your visual field while eyes are closed.
3. Still with the eyes close, look into your left. This time press the nasal
(medial) side of the left eye socket. You will again notice a ring of light on
your visual field even with eyes closed.

4. Make a pinhole through a white sheet of paper / cardboard.

5. Close one eye. Using the other eye, look through the hole 3 to 4 inches away
from the eye.
6. While looking through the hole, pass a pin across the hole in the paper and the
eye.
7. Observe for the pin and its shadow that moves across the hole.

8. Now make two (2) pinholes on a sheet of paper / cardboard. Pinholes

should be one millimeter apart.
9. Close the left eye.
10. Using the right eye, look through the pinholes simultaneously at an object
distant to the pinholes.
11. Hold the pin vertically about one (1) foot away from the card (i.e. in front of the
card not in front of your eye).
12. Now, try to look for the pins through the pinholes. Record your
observations.

Questions:
1. For procedures 1 to 3, where do you see the phosphene ring when pressure was
applied on the lateral side? What about when pressure where applied on the medial side?
Explain.

2. Were the direction of the pin and its shadow the same as it passes the pinhole? Why
or Why not? (For procedures 4 to 7)
3. For procedures 8 to 12, how many pin/s do you see? Explain.

III. Visual Field

A. Perimetry (G K Pal, 2005)
1. Ask the subject to sit comfortably on a stool.
2. Using a modified Hand Perimeter, arrange the perimeter in such a way
that the concavity of the arc faces the subject.
3. Anchor your right cheek on the cheek rest of the perimeter.
4. Test the right. Cover the left eye. Focus the right eye on the fixation point,
usually a mirror behind the compass of the perimeter. It should be
emphasized that the subject’s gaze should be fixed on the fixation point
throughout the maneuver.
5. Fix the metallic arc in one meridian.
6. Move the test object (the rod with a white probe at the end) gradually from
the periphery (90 o ) towards the central fixation point.
7. Ask the subject to indicate / signal when he first sees the object.
8. Record the point on the perimeter chart noting the degrees of the arc for
that meridian.
9. Repeat procedures 6 to 8 at 15 o intervals till the field of vision is
plotted in all meridians of the four quadrants. Shade the periphery of the chart.
10. Mapping should be done on clockwise direction. Illumination should be
adequate. Remove eyeglasses during the test to avoid limitation of visual field.
11. Repeat the entire procedure on the opposite eye and record your
observation on the chart.
Questions:
1. What are factors that limits ones visual field?
2. Name some visual field defects. Briefly explain their cause/s.

B. Blind Spot (Kendra, 2014)

1. Cover your left eye.
2. Position the figure by Kendra horizontally on the other sheet. Keep the
figure two feet away from your head at eye level.
3. Fix your gaze at the star with your right eye.
4. Move the figure towards your head slowly. At some point, you will notice
that the circular dot on the right will disappear.
5. Move further closer. The dot will reappear.
6. Repeat procedures 2 to 5 this time covering your right eye and testing your
left eye.
7. Record your observation.
Questions:
1. Why do we have a blind spot in our visual field?
2. What is the location of blind spot in the retinal field? What structures are found in
this part of the retina?

IV. Visual Acuity

1. Ask the subject to stand or sit 20 feet from the Snellen’s chart. Make sure that
the chart is at the subject’s eye level.
2. Ensure good lighting or illumination on the chart.
3. Occlude the left eye with an eye occluder. If there is no eye occluder, ask the
subject to wash dry his hand and occlude the left eye using his hand.
4. Ask the subject to read from the top of the chart.
5. The smallest line that he can read with minimal error (≤ 2) will be
expressed as a fraction, e.g. 20 /25 or 20 /20.
6. Perform the same procedure on the left eye.
7. If the subject wears correction lenses, run the test with and without
corrective lenses.
8. Record your results.
Questions:
1. What does a visual acuity score of 20 / 40 means?
2. The most acute vision is located in which part of the retina? Explain.

3. Using an arrow diagram, trace the pathway for vision.

V. Color Vision
 1. Ask the patient to sit as comfortably as possible.
2. Bring out the Ishihara’a color plates / American Optical Instruments
Division Chart.
3. Hold the plates 75 cm. away from the subject and should be tilted in such a way
the plane of paper is at right angles to the line of vision.
4 . The shapes ( numerals for Ishihara) should be stated in not more than 3
seconds.
5. Record the plates which are incorrectly identified by the subject and
interpret using the explanation for the plates by Ishihara / American
Optical Instrument Division Chart.

Questions:
1. Explain the perception of color.

2. What are other tests for color vision aside from those used in the experiment?
Explain their concepts.

3. Explain how color blindness is transmitted.

VI. Binocular (Stereoscopic Acuity)
1. Place 2 rods (or 2 ball pens) 5 cm apart on a table or card board. One rod (rod
A) is 30 cm farther back than the other rod (rod B).
2. Allow the subject to sit 4 meters directly in front of the rod B. Make sure it is
at the eye level of the subject.
3. Move rod A slowly forward, while the subject determines that the two rods
are of the same distance using both eyes.
4. The examiner measures the resolvable distance (the perpendicular
distance between the planes occupied by each rod wherein they appear to be of
the same distance from the subjects point of view).
5. Make at least 3 trials.
6. Repeat the procedures above this time using only the left eye (cover the right
eye). Then use only the right eye (cover the left eye). Record your
observations.
7. Do the same procedure but this time the subject is 2 meters away from rod B .
Record your observations.
8. Compare results in monocular and binocular vision and at 2 meters and 4
meters.
9. Use the equation below to compute for stereoscopic acuity (SA).

PS
SA = --------------------------

L2
P – Interpupillary Distance
S – Resolvable Distance
L – Subject’s Distance from Rod B

VII. Retinal or Train Nystagmus

1. Allow the subject to be seated comfortably.
2. Ask the subject to fix gaze at the drum with alternating black and white
vertical lines.
3. Now turn the drum clockwise/ counterclockwise at different speeds, from
slow to very fast.
4. Observe the movement of the eyes of the subject.
5. Record your observations.

Questions:
1. Explain the basis of naming the nystagmus.
2. Explain briefly the types of eye movements.

VIII. Optics
1. Place a screen about 50 cm. away from the object, Interpose the lens
between the object and the screen at such distance as to have the image of the
object sharply focused on the screen.
2. Determine the refractive power of the lens (in Diopters) by getting the
reciprocal of the focal distance using the formula below:

1 1 1
= ------- +
------- --------
fd - Do Di

Where:
Do – Distance of the object from the nodal point of the lens Di –
Distance of the image from the nodal point of the lens fd –
Principal focal distance

Note: All Distances are expressed in meters.

Now get the reciprocal of your result and express them in Diopters

3. Verify the computation by varying the distance between the screen and the
object. Make two trials. Note the change in Di as to the Do is
varied. Show your computations.
4. Place the lens 30 cm in front of the screen and 30 cm. in front of the
object.
5. Observe for the sharpness of the image on the screen when the object is
brought nearer.

Questions:
1. Explain the principle behind optics (Principle of Refraction) in creating an image
in the retina.
2. Discuss the errors of refraction.

IX. Afterimage
1 . Fix your gaze on colored objects placed against a white screen for 3 0 seconds.
2. Shift your gaze to a white blank screen or wall.
3. Observe for the shape and color of the image that you can visualize.
4. Rest your eyes for 5 minutes.
5. Fix your gaze on a colored objet again for 30 seconds.
6. Close your eyes.
7. Observe for the shape and color of the image that you can visualize.
8. Record your observations.

Questions:
1. Explain the principle on positive and negative afterimage.